Former Seahawk on track to become a fighter pilot

Nick Reed is seen during Seahawks rookie minicamp on May 2, 2009, in Renton. (Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Nick Reed had two callings: playing football and flying.

He gave the first one a heckuva shot. In 2009, the Seahawks drafted him in the seventh round out of Oregon, where as a defensive end he set the school record in sacks. Reed played in 16 games for Seattle off the bench, making one sack and forcing three fumbles, taking one of them 79 yards to the end zone.

But he then got injured and the Seahawks cut him. He tried to return to the NFL in 2010, working out with nearly a dozen teams, but didn’t get signed until a year later when Chicago gave him a futures contract. That was on Sept. 1, 2011, and 10 days later — on Sept. 11 — he was accepted to the Air Force, reports Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.

“When I was a kid my dad was in the Navy,” Reed told La Confora on Monday, “and he was flight surgeon — a doctor for the pilots. So he would come home and talk about that stuff with me, and I think that’s how I kind of got into it and knew that was something I wanted to do. Most kids want to be an astronaut or a pilot. I guess I never really got out of that stage.”

Nevertheless, Reed still wanted to play football and gave the sport another chance. He appeared in seven games for the Bears, then three with the Buccaneers after he was cut by Chicago. But 2011 was his last season in the NFL; in May 2012, he was signed by the Vikings but eventually fell short of the 53-man roster.

So it was back to the Air Force. And on Sept. 10, 2012, he was accepted again to the Air Force Academy, La Canfora reported. But he wouldn’t start his training until this spring. Here’s an excerpt from the CBS Sports profile on Reed:

Finally, in April, Reed could begin his nine-week “Super Boot Camp,” which will continue through the spring. It was around that time that his agent, Marc Lillibridge, received a text from Reed informing him he was definitely done with football.

“As much as I enjoyed football, this is what I am supposed to be doing. Thanks for the opportunities you provided me during my time in. It was a great experience.”

Still, even in a brief conversation with Reed (who played at 6-1, 250 pounds) one can detect he isn’t totally at ease with how his football career played out. He said he doesn’t miss the game anymore, but believes he could have achieved more in the NFL if given the opportunity.

Yet now he’s in the Air Force and training to be a pilot — his second calling. Reed wants to be a fighter pilot … though at 6-foot-1 he might be a smidgen tall for those small cockpits.

Of course, the Air Force doesn’t fly just fighter jets.

“I would like to be a fighter,” Reed told La Canfora. “Flying jets is cool and I would love to do it, but it’s very competitive and depending on when I graduate there might not be any spots available. You need a lot of skill and luck to make that happen.

“If that doesn’t work out then I will have a pilot’s license and I’m excited to fly. Honestly, for me — and it might be different for guys with families who don’t want to go overseas — but personally, I think going overseas and flying would be a great experience. I don’t know about fun, but it’s something I want to do.”